Kevin Natividad feels he can win anywhere against Kyle Estrada at LFA 85
Following a stretch where he fought nine times over the course of two years, it’s been 17 months since bantamweight Kevin Natividad last stepped into a cage for competition.
Just when it seemed Natividad might return to action, something would happen and set Natividad’s return to fighting back, leading to the longest layoff of his career.
“(One) reason it took so long was because I got injured after my last fight (in February of 2019),” Natividad told MMAWeekly.com. “I think I was out for like two months. To get back into it I did another Jiu-Jitsu tournament and got injured again.
“So I was out for another two months, then fights kept falling through, and basically went through three or four fight camps injured and not injured. Then the whole Covid thing happened. I was supposed to fight someone the week the lockdown started in Arizona.”
When he was healthy enough to train, Natividad was able to work on his game to the point where he feels like he’s much improved over the version of himself from last year.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot, but I just haven’t shown it because of so many opportunities missed,” said Natividad. “I feel like I’ve been working a lot on my Jiu-Jitsu. I’ve been working with a lot of professional boxers. We’ve been working a lot of Thai clinch.
“I’ve been doing my best basically to stay well-rounded just in case literally anything came up short notice. I feel like I’ve grown a lot because I feel like I’ve been in camp since like October of last year.”
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On Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Natividad (8-1) returns to action when he faces Kyle Estrada (10-5) in a main card 135-pound bout at LFA 85.
“I’m really excited because I know Kyle Estrada is super talented,” Natividad said. “I know he’s a great kickboxer, he’s got great Jiu-Jitsu, and I think fighting the best guys brings the best out in me. I’m not underestimating him at all. I’m just hoping for a good fun fight.
“I can see myself winning anywhere. I can take him down and submit him, but I also think I can out-strike him on the feet too. I think a lot of people might be sleeping on my stand-up right now, but that’s okay, because I was originally a grappler, but I feel I can win anywhere.”
While he’s eager to return to fighting, Natividad isn’t going to make plans for the remainder of 2020. Instead he has his mind set improving himself and not much beyond that.
“That’s mostly what I do is take it one fight at a time,” said Natividad. “I try not to overlook anyone I fight, regardless of what people say. As far as 2020, and having not fought in a while, I’m just trying to work on being the best well-rounded fighter I can be.”
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Kevin Natividad feels he can win anywhere against Kyle Estrada at LFA 85
